CONTACT/FOLLOW

Synopsis: From the moment the black vans appear to take the sick away, Maya knows there is something wrong. A high school sophomore, she seems to be the only one to question the sudden disappearances at school and the masks everyone is forced to wear to keep from catching the new disease spreading through the entire United States. Even when word of the new “healing centers” reaches the public, no one dares to ask what is happening.But when Maya catches the disease, the one they call The Tearings, and is taken to one of these centers along with her mother, the truth becomes all too clear. She is separated from her family and forced to work, becoming one of the more fortunate ones who is not sent to the testing wings. Bullied by the guards to the point of death, she meets David Summers, the enigmatic young Captain who appears to loathe his position of power in the camp and who seems as drawn to Maya as she is to him.When Maya suddenly becomes the disease’s only survivor, she must put her trust on David to find a way to escape the camp and get the truth, and the cure coursing through her veins, out to the world.

Series: The Tearings (1)

Review: A vicious and virulent disease, called The Tearings, is ripping through the population. People start disappearing off the street, neighbors and friends turn on one another, and everyone is forced to wear masks. When Maya is reported by her neighbors, a black van comes for her and her mother taking them to a ‘healing center’. These ‘healing centers’ are no more than death camps where the guards treat the residents like they are no longer human, pit them against other residents, work them to the bone, and kill without compunction. Thankfully, Maya isn’t one of the people sent to the testing wing, from which almost no one returns. When Maya lives through the worst of the disease without dying Captain Summers, Maya’s only friend among the guards, knows she must leave the center and let the world know the truth...

The beginning of THE TEARINGS reminded me a lot of the pervasive no-see-um attitude of World War 2, where if people ignored what was happening around them it wasn’t really happening. The disease itself was truly terrifying and the vivid descriptions of the progression were chilling. The governmental reaction to this epidemic is swift and merciless, which Maya learns firsthand. Yet once you arrive at the camp, there is only one way you are leaving – in a body bag. THE TEARINGS will engender a multitude of different feelings and the pace will keep you glued to the pages. I was drawn to Maya’s character because once she was tested, her true strength shone through. Maya stood up, regardless of the consequences to herself, for those who couldn’t defend themselves. THE TEARINGS is a book which will make a strong impression on any reader. It’s a genuinely interesting and scary good read!